We are studying the role of y-tubulin during meiosis and oogenesis in the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster. y-tubulin is a newly-characterized isoform of tubulin located in microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs). Rings of are thought to be the organelles that nucleate the growth of microtubules within microtubule . The molecular mechanisms that cells use to organize and maintain y-tubulin in MTOCs are not known. We would like to study the distribution of y-tubulin in the germ cells of Drosophila using the optical sectioning microscopy equipment at the IMR. Confocal microscopy will be used to examine y-tubulin localization during oogenesis and meiosis in Drosophila females and during syngamy and mitosis in fertilized embryos.